CENTRAL, DALLAS, FALLS CITY AND PERRYDALE
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10, 12A
Volume 141, Issue 21
www.Polkio.com
Alcalde resigns
post as fire chief
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Al
Alcalde submitted a 30-day
resignation on April 25 of
his position as fire chief for
Polk Fire District No. 1. He
started the job on Sept. 8,
2015.
The fire board accepted
the resignation at a special
meeting after a 40-minute
executive session.
Alcalde said that in his
eight months as fire chief,
he hasn’t had a chance to
get involved in the commu-
nity because of an extended
work schedule.
“The board has been
very supportive and look-
ing for change in the
agency,” Alcalde said. “As
you are aware, it is very
tough to work your way
into a closed group.”
Board chair Tom Snair
said the resignation was not
what the board wanted, but
said that Alcalde didn’t turn
out to be the best fit for the
department.
“It’s not something I’m
particularly happy about,”
he said. “Sometimes, when
you get the shoe home, it
doesn’t fit like it did in the
store.”
Snair said fire chiefs typi-
cally stay three to four
years, not just eight
months.
“Eight months wasn’t re-
ally a fair time to give an
evaluation,” Snair said. “It
just kept coming to a boil.”
Volunteers and full-time
employees were unhappy
with Alcalde, Snair said.
Snair said Alcalde has
agreed to work beyond the
30-day resignation to finish
some tasks he started, in-
cluding making sure Cen-
tral School District build-
ings were up to code and
completing job descrip-
tions for firefighters, some-
thing the department has
lacked for years.
“He wanted to clean up
the schools and make sure
the safety violations are
taken care of,” he said.
Some people were work-
ing outside their job de-
scriptions, Snair said.
He and the board hoped
having more clarity would
help people know exactly
what they were expected to
do.
See ChiEf, pafe 6A
May 25, 2016
$1.00
Bond fails at polls
Voters say no to efforts to raise money for Dallas streets
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Voters voiced
strong opposition to a 10-
year, $10 million bond to re-
pair residential streets in
Dallas in the May 17 pri-
mary.
The proposal, Measure
27-119, suffered a 62 percent
to 37 percent defeat, receiv-
ing 2,998 “no” votes to 1,803
“yes” votes.
“It’s a disappointing out-
come,” said Dallas Mayor
Brian Dalton. “I do believe
this was our best and most
appropriate way of dealing
with a problem that’s grow-
ing exponentially.”
The city estimates it has a
$15 million maintenance
backlog on residential
streets due to insufficient
revenue coming from state
highway appropriations and
the federal gas tax.
Revenue received from
those sources pays for opera-
tion of the entire street de-
partment, which maintains
not only streets, but sidewalks
and street lights and pays for
equipment and materials.
Without adequate fund-
ing, the city maintaining just
high-traffic areas.
Measure 27-119
Yes: 1,803 (38 percent)
No: 2,998 (62 percent)
For more election re-
sults, see Page 2A
Measure 27-119 would
have been the first of a three-
step process to solve the
problem, which included im-
plementing a fee to cover fu-
ture maintenance and a sec-
ond bond to fix the approxi-
mately 11 miles of streets not
covered with the first.
Now, Dalton said the situ-
ation will deteriorate. He
said between 2010 and 2016,
the cost to repair streets in-
creased by $6 million.
“That’s a pretty steep cliff
we are approaching,” he
said. “It’s getting worse.”
He said kicking the more
expensive burden into the
future is damaging.
“I think that we are eating
the seed corn of the next
generation,” he said.
Dalton said he believed
the campaign in support of
the bond was well-organized
and provided voters with in-
formation via different
sources, including a website,
social media, live presenta-
tions, print advertising, and
door-to-door.
That’s part of the reason
he was so surprised by the
margin of defeat.
“I feel the voters had quite
a bit of information,” Dalton
said. “I don’t know what
more we could have done.”
Dalton said two citizens’
committees examined the
issue and found the pro-
posed plan to be the best
option available. With its de-
feat, the city will have to
search for a plan B.
City Manager Ron Foggin
said leaders haven’t had an
opportunity to hammer out
how to move forward.
He said he would like to
find out more information
about why the vote was so
lopsided.
“Understanding the ‘why’
part of it is really important,”
Foggin said.
Foggin added this is the
second attempt the city has
made to address streets, and
second failure.
“We need to look at how
we communication the in-
formation,” he said. “If we
missed that, or there is some
work to do on it, we need to
figure out what we can do.”
‘Explore’ Polk County’s parks, cities
With so much to do, where
do you start? See Section C
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
EmIlY mENTzEr/ Itemizer-Observer
Take a drive, hike or bike ride throufh the scenic pathways and roads in polk County.
plan your next day trip or adventure now with Explore polk County, Section C.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
POLK COUNTY — Inside,
find the Itemizer-Observer’s
Explore Polk County 2016,
an annual publication taking
a look at all the things the
county has to offer visitors,
residents and businesses.
Some stories are simi-
lar — covering our favorite
parks, events and towns —
this year we took a new
look at the organization of
things. Instead of trying to
pack everything into geo-
graphic locations, we put
stories together based on
recreation, communities,
entertainment, living in
Polk County, and festivals.
Also this year, you may
notice a higher quality in the
printing. We hope you will
consider keeping the maga-
zine year-round. When
guests visit, it makes the
question, “What should we
do today?” easy, and keeps
things in quick driving dis-
tance.
Celebrating all things Polk
County is something out-
door enthusiasts, foodies,
cyclists, wine tasters and
members of Rogue Nation
have been doing for years.
Between the Willamette
River and the Oregon Coast
Range, Polk County has
much to offer for visitors and
residents alike.
Campsites and bed and
breakfasts offer lodging op-
portunities for hikers explor-
ing trails that loop through
vineyards, hills, fields — and
through towns.
The county is ideal for
birding, and not just at Bas-
kett Slough Park. Ospreys
and bald eagles make their
nests near rivers that run
through the county.
Vineyards spot the coun-
tryside, close enough to
make a day of touring and
tasting, but too many to see
in just one afternoon. Inside
Explore, we take a look at the
wine industry in general, but
in August, we will publish
something new — a wine
guide dedicated exclusively
to Polk County’s vines.
Polk County is rich in cul-
ture with the Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde
sharing their tribal heritage
at the Chachalu Tribal Muse-
um and Cultural Center, in
addition to free powwows, a
chance to see elaborate, tra-
ditional costumes and watch
professional Native Ameri-
can dances.
The county is home to
world-class, destination
trails for bicyclists, from a
mountain bike vineyard loop
to the Black Rock Mountain
Bike area — and country
roads winding past farms,
old barns, and fruit and veg-
etable stands.
Even if touring the county
by car, the dirt and rock
roads that between fields
can make it feel like you’re
miles away from civilization
rather than just minutes
from a city.
See ExplorE, pafe 6A
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DAllAS
Dallas Family Night
Out collects school sup-
plies.
»pafe 3A
fAllS CiTY
Annual Third of July
Celebration canceled.
»pafe 7A
iNDEpENDENCE
Couple honoring me-
morial Day with a spe-
cial CrossFit workout
and fundraiser.
»pafe 5A
MoNMoUTh
Western Oregon Uni-
versity honors veterans
with memorial Day pro-
gram.
»pafe 7A
SporTS
Dallas baseball and
softball teams advance
to the first round of the
state playoffs.
»pafes 10-11A
EDUCATioN
Eola Hills Charter
School continues its
search for a permanent
home.
»pafe 16A
CoUNTY
Incumbents win local
elections.
»pafe 2A
Committee to
hold final
budget meeting
itemizer-observer staff report
POlK COUNTY — The
Polk County Budget Com-
mittee will hold its final
budget hearing Wednes-
day (today) at 10 a.m. in the
conference room at the
Polk County Courthouse.
The meeting will include
any changes or updates to
the budget outlook for the
2016-17 fiscal year.
Tentative approval was
given in April to the $64.9
million total budget, an in-
crease of 10 percent over
the current budget. The
general fund — the fund
that contains budgets for
such departments as the
sheriff’s office and jail, dis-
trict attorney, community
corrections and assessor —
comes in at $22.2 million, a
12 percent increase.
Final approval by the
Polk County Board of Com-
missioners is slated for
June.
For more information:
503-623-8173.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Step up to 4-H with
the Polk County Ex-
tension’s needle
felting class today at
the Extension office,
289 E. Ellendale Ave.
4-5 p.m. free.
lightsabers and
1980s high school
meet Shakespeare
in Western Oregon’s
production of Cym-
beline.
7:30 p.m. $7-$12.
Kick it old school at
Guthrie Park’s
acoustic jam ses-
sion. musicians and
listeners welcome.
Donations accepted.
6:30-10 p.m. free.
Find out what’s
fresh at one of two
Independence farm-
ers markets, both
easily accessed from
downtown.
9 a.m.-2 p.m. free.
Take in some art at
river Gallery in
downtown Inde-
pendence and cele-
brate the window
artist of the month.
2-4 p.m. free.
Happy memorial
Day to our readers.
See Page 7A for
events honoring
those who have
fallen in battle. Our
office will be closed.
James2 Community
Kitchen serves
meals to all who are
hungry each Tues-
day at St. Philip
Catholic Church.
4:30-6 p.m. free.
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Showers
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Partly sunny
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